Dr Sven Hansen

We are waking up to the suffering and cost of mental illness. The World Health Organisation estimates that 1 in 4 of us will suffer from mental illness at some point in our lives. Affecting 450 million people today it is the leading cause of illness. The cost to business is USD $1 trillion. Simple […]

Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) is how strategists describe the modern workplace. Everything is also moving faster. Many work processes that used to take weeks – letters, reporting, travel – are now instantaneous. Humans are not equipped for this turbulent assault of information, opinion, news, competition and distraction. Many feel overloaded, busy and stressed. […]

At The Resilience Institute, we have made a business of securing the benefits of resilience for our clients around the world. We tracked the impact of resilience interventions using our 60-factor assessment, the Resilience Diagnostic. The data clearly shows that resilience strengths (the top of the spiral) improve and resilience risks (the bottom of the […]

Meditation has gone mainstream for good reasons. The evidence confidently shows physical, emotional and cognitive benefits [i] Roughly 2,500 years of dedicated practice proves safety Meditation presents as a foundation competence for our future It can be the most enjoyable part of your day and enlightens the rest So, why isn’t everybody meditating? Even, philosopher […]

Resilience in the workplace is a leading issue for boards, CEOs, and the People and Culture leadership. The workplace drivers for resilience are clear: People and teams in flow multiply productivity Mental skills – specifically situation agility – are essential Productivity requires emotional maturity and collaboration People need support in wellbeing and lifestyle disciplines Change […]

Book Review: Coddling of the American Mind, Lukianoff and Haidt, 2018 We parent, teach and support. We want the best for young people. What we are seeing is a collapse of mental well-being. At the same time, events of intimidation, violence and witch hunts increase. Lukianoff and Haidt take us on an evidence-based and carefully […]

Perspectives on Mental Health Week When we hear “mental health”, the words ADHD, social withdrawal, anxiety, depression and suicide tend to surface. This is counter-productive. Aristotle’s and the Stoics eudaimonia is a powerful idea. It may be a better frame to reduce suffering. Supported by 2,500 years of practical philosophy, eudaimonia means good (eu) spirit […]

With attention disorders, anxiety and depression swallowing up ever more of our lives, should we wail, gnash our teeth and take our medicines? Or, could we use wellbeing – body, emotion and mind? We have massive, profitable industries to address our suffering. Starting with dubious diagnoses, mental health businesses, psychiatry and pharmaceuticals profit handsomely from […]

How people bounce, grow, connect and flow Our life is a blaze of consciousness in an eternity of emptiness. Behind us is 13.8 billion years of an expanding universe. Ahead may be 2.8 (or more) billion years. Human life is a fraction of a billionth of time. So short and so precious. So meaningless and […]